After a whirlwind type of April/May 2009, which included my wedding, my honeymoon (FL), a big New Jersey Star Party and a friend's wedding (back to FL!), I'm finally back home and more importantly, back in the shop!

One of the first things we needed to do with Teeter's Telescopes was clean up our old website. We had outgrown what was a free template of a site, and we were due for something a little more professional and polished. We spent the last several months tinkering with different designs and layouts and picked our current template as the winner:

Please click through that first page to the Teeter's Telescopes site. A link is also presented for my wife's company, "Shrouds by Heather," off of that main page.

In addition, we would also like to make this the unofficial relaunch of Teeter's Telescopes, the company. As many of you know, we came out of retirement in March 2008, but we've done no advertising (print or vending at starparties or otherwise). That's all about to change. We're gearing up to do a media "blitz" this Summer.

The misconception that we are still "out of business" is pervasive (granted, we haven't done much to squelch that, yet) and there's of course a great portion of the country that does not know we existed or that we continue to exist. So please help spread the word and help point out our ad's when you see them in the magazines and at Star Parties around the country.

It was great to see you both ! All the best on the new venture. And you can celebrate your first year together next year at NEAF 2010 . I will need your Dobs and Shrouds there!!! Mark the dates April 17th and April 18th 2010 .

Jim,
Our "Dual Boundary Layer Cooling Fans" are standard on all scopes that we sell. Originally, 4 years ago they were an add-on but it got to the point that everyone was ordering them with their scopes that we made them a standard part of our design.

You can find our "blurb" on them on the "Ten Reasons Teeter's Telescopes Should be on the Top of Your List..." page:

Although there should be at least a couple Teeter Scopes out on the field there at Cherry Springs - just look for the dark Cherry stain and the brass hardware, then you'll know you've found a Teeter's.

David,Point taken! The 8" f/8 is a bit of an enigma. It is our third most popular aperture and focal length combination (after the 12.5" f/5 and the 10" f/6), but it is so specialized for planetary viewing that most of our past owners out-grow it quickly.

With a 1.52" secondary mirror, the scope only has a Central Obstruction of 19% and is therefore below the "magic threshold" of 20%, and at f/8 is going to be terrific no matter who makes it. The only downfall is that it is only 8" and most of our previous customers last about a year with their 8" f/8, or a full season of Jupiter and/or Saturn, and then place the scope up for sale on AstroMart and start looking for something bigger.

Granted, such a scope will perform admirably on the brightest deep space objects and will handle a 31mm Nagler (a binoviewer is debatable as to whether there is enough light to illuminate two eyepieces), but it is going to leave you wanting more after you check out M13, M92, M5, M3, M28, M22, M31, M27, M11, M42, etc.

So don't get me wrong, it is an outstanding aperture and focal length combination - you just need to be prepared that deep sky observing is not this instrument's strong point and if you really want to observe the faint fuzzies, you'll need to compliment this scope with a larger instrument. It seems obvious, but people have tried to live with this aperture and focal length as their primary instrument, and those are the ones who usually put the scope up for sale after a year of observing with it to help cure their aperture fever.

As a proud owner of an F4.2 18" Teeter's scope; I can personally attest to the build quality of the scope. I always get compliments on it (I store it inside in the living room corner). The views on deep sky objects and planets are both outstanding. I can have the scope rolled out and set up in less than 10 minutes. Collimation just requires a minor tweak.